Rhodes to the Top
by aznboi85
Summary: WWE-Cody Rhodes is the son of a WWE Legend. He is a member of Legacy. He has a ton of potential. The only problem is his potential hasn't quite been realized...yet. Follow Cody's journey as he establishes himself as one of the top contenders on Raw.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First of all, I have to say that I've read some wrestling fics, and I am surprised by how the majority of them have little or no actual wrestling in them. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE, any of its superstars, or divas. If you don't know who does own the WWE, you can't honestly call yourself a wrestling fan. I am not making a profit by writing this story.**

**Rhodes to the Top**

_Chapter 1-Cody Rhodes versus Mark Henry Steel Cage Match_

"We are just under four weeks away from SummerSlam. Tonight, Shane McMahon is the guest host of Raw. He has put Cody Rhodes in a match with Mark Henry," Michael Cole said.

"That's right. Only this time, Cody can't get himself counted out because Rhodes will face The World's Strongest Man inside a steel cage," Jerry 'The King' Lawler stated.

"With that being said, let's go down to Lillian for the introductions."

Lillian Garcia was standing in the middle of the ring with a microphone in hand.

"The following is a steel cage match where the only way to win is by pin fall, submission, or escaping the cage," Lillian announced. Legacy's entrance music started playing, and Legacy's entrance video played on the Titantron. "Introducing first, from Charlotte, North Carolina, weighing in at 219 pounds, Cody Rhodes."

The second-generation superstar made his way down to ringside to a chorus of boos from the audience. Rhodes had a very worried expression on his face, and rightfully so. His opponent was no pushover.

Mark Henry's entrance music started playing, and his entrance video appeared on the Titantron.

"His opponent, from Silsbee, Texas, weighing in at 392 pounds, he is The World's Strongest Man, Mark Henry," Lillian announced.

The behemoth made his way down to ringside with a huge smile on his face. There would be no escape for young Cody Rhodes this time. The crowd cheered as Mark Henry made his way down to the ring.

Once both combatants were in the ring, the steel cage began its steady descent. Cody looked up nervously as it came down around him.

The bell sounded.

Immediately, Cody Rhodes tried to open the door, but it had been padlocked shut. There would be no escaping the cage that way.

Rhodes quickly started scaling the cage, but Mark Henry wasn't about to let him get away so easily. He grabbed him by the back of his wrestling trunks, and threw him back into the ring with authority. Cody landed hard on his back.

Rhodes scooted backwards until he could scoot no further. He was up against the turnbuckles now. Henry stalked Cody like he was his prey.

Rhodes bounded to his feet and started kicking away at the knee of Mark Henry repeatedly. The World's Strongest Man just shoved the Legacy member off of him and into the ropes. Cody rebounded off the ropes and was engulfed by Henry as the second-generation superstar was sent crashing into the mat.

Mark Henry came off the ropes and went for a big splash, but Rhodes got out of the way just in the nick of time.

Now that Henry was down, Cody connected with a series of forearm shots to the face. He then bounded off the ropes and hit a running bulldog.

Rhodes went for the cover. Mark Henry's legs were like tree trunks though, and Cody couldn't hook a leg. After a one count, Henry kicked out with authority sending the Legacy member flying through the air, and landing stomach first on the mat.

Rhodes was up to his feet first, and started punching the gut of Mark Henry. The blows weren't even fazing The World's Strongest Man though because his stomach was so massive. He shoved the young man off of him, and as he came off the ropes, Henry nailed him with a spinning heel kick—an unorthodox move from the big man.

The behemoth came off the ropes with a head of steam and this time connected with a big splash on a prone Cody Rhodes. That's nearly four-hundred pounds that came crashing down on Rhodes.

Mark Henry went for a cover, not bothering to hook a leg. One. Two. Henry pulled Cody up before the referee counted three. He waved his finger back and forth in an 'I'm not finished yet' gesture.

The World's Strongest Man hauled Rhodes to his feet, and then hoisted him high above his head for what looked to be military press slam. However, instead, Henry threw Cody like a javelin face first into the steel cage. The second-generation superstar crumpled to the canvas in a heap.

The crowd started to chant, "One more time!"

So, for a second time, Mark Henry hoisted Cody Rhodes high above his head, and threw him face first into the steel cage again. This time, however, the blow busted Cody open. A stream of crimson started flowing down the young man's face.

Again, the crowd chanted, "One more time!"

For a third time, The World's Strongest Man lifted Cody Rhodes high above his head and threw him like a javelin into the steel cage face first. By now, Rhodes' face was a crimson mask.

Mark Henry picked the limp form of Cody Rhodes up and delivered his finisher—The World's Strongest Slam. Henry went for the pin. It should be academic. One. Two. Again, Mark lifted Cody up before the referee's hand hit the mat for a third time.

Once more, the crowd chanted, "One more time!"

The gargantuan of a man got Rhodes in position for a second World's Strongest Slam, which wasn't hard to do given how Cody was practically lifeless, not to mention a bloody mess.

However, Mark Henry began scaling the turnbuckles. He was perched up on the second turnbuckle, and it was from there that he delivered a devastating World's Strongest Slam to Rhodes. He went for the pin. One. Two. Three.

The bell rang.

"Here is the winner of the match, Mark Henry," Lillian announced as the crowd cheered.

"If there's one thing young Cody Rhodes learned tonight, it's that you don't mess with the McMahons," Lawler said.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: This is my first wrestling fic. I hope you liked it. Just for the record, I ****am**** a Cody Rhodes fan, but let's be real people. He didn't stand a chance against Mark Henry. Mark just has too much of a weight advantage. This particular match was obviously inspired by this past Raw's match pitting Cody Rhodes against Mark Henry. But Cody Rhodes fans don't despair. Things will get better for the Legacy member; as if the title of this fic isn't indication enough…Anyways, feel free to let me know what you think by dropping me a review. Thank you for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**Rhodes to the Top**

_Chapter 2-Cody Rhodes versus Randy Orton Non-Title Match_

Jonathan Coachman was standing in the center of the ring, microphone in hand beside a gold cylindrical machine with balls twirling around inside of it.

"Tonight, I am the guest host of Raw, and while I can't make any championship matches before SummerSlam, I can make a main event for tonight. In this machine, are the names of every male superstar on the Raw roster except for the WWE Champion, Randy Orton, and those superstars on the injured list. I will select a superstar at random, and that superstar will face the champ tonight in a non-title match in the main event. If that lucky superstar beats Orton tonight, then he will earn a title shot against Randy at SummerSlam," Coach announced.

Coach stopped the machine, opened it up, and grabbed a ball out from inside of it. He opened the ball up, and inside of it was a slip of paper with the name of a Raw superstar.

"Tonight, Randy Orton will go one-on-one with…Cody Rhodes!" The Coach announced.

"Did you hear that, King?" Michael Cole asked.

"Wow! What a huge opportunity for young Rhodes tonight," Lawler replied.

"The question is will Cody reach for the brass ring tonight?"

Backstage, in the Legacy locker room, Legacy watched this on the television monitor there. Orton looked livid. Cody had a blank expression on his face. Dibiase looked thoughtful.

The WWE Champion was pacing back and forth when he suddenly stopped, and had a huge smirk on his face.

"I don't know what I was getting myself all worked up for. After all, it's not like you're going to actually _wrestle_ me tonight, Cody. Let's face it. You can't beat me. So here's what you're going to do—you're going to go out there tonight, and just lay down," Orton said, before leaving the Legacy locker room.

After Dibiase was certain Orton was out of earshot, he decided to weigh in on the matter.

"Cody, if I were you, I'd give it all I got tonight. There's no telling when or even if you'll get another opportunity like this anytime soon," Ted commented.

"But Ted, you heard what Randy said," Cody replied.

"Yeah, I heard what Orton said, but you didn't see me lay down for him in my match, did you? That wasn't even for a title shot either."

"Look, the last thing I want to do is cause any dissension within Legacy."

"Do you remember when Orton punted your father, Dusty Rhodes, in the skull? Well, now's your chance for revenge. Think about it, Cody."

With that, Ted Dibiase left Cody Rhodes alone in the Legacy locker room to think about what he would or wouldn't do later in the night.

Later in the evening, Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Michael Cole were talking about the main event tonight.

"We're less than three weeks away from SummerSlam, and how about the main event coming up next?" Michael Cole remarked.

"The leader of Legacy, Randy Orton, the WWE Champion, will go one-on-one with fellow Legacy member, and one of Orton's protégés, Cody Rhodes," Lawler said.

"That's right, and thanks to tonight's guest host, Jonathan Coachman, if Cody Rhodes can somehow defeat Randy Orton here tonight in this non-title match, he will receive a title shot at SummerSlam."

Lillian Garcia was in the center of the ring with a microphone in hand.

"The following non-title match is set for one fall. Introducing first, from Charlotte, North Carolina, weighing in at 219 pounds, Cody Rhodes," Lillian announced.

Legacy's entrance music played, and Legacy's entrance video appeared on the Titantron. Cody made his way down to ringside. He still had battle scars from last week's steel cage match against Mark Henry. Rhodes had a band-aid on his forehead, and his ribs were bandaged up. The crowd didn't know who to cheer or boo this match; both superstars were heels.

"His opponent, from St. Louis, Missouri, weighing in at 245 pounds, he is the WWE Champion, Randy Orton," Lillian said.

Randy Orton's entrance music, "Voices," played as Orton's entrance video popped up on the Titantron. Some females in attendance screamed as Randy made his way down to ringside, but he mostly got boos.

The referee took the WWE Championship from Orton, and went to the side of the ring to hand it to Lillian.

The bell sounded.

"Do yourself a favor Cody, and just lay down like we talked about!" Orton screamed at Rhodes.

Reluctantly, the son of Dusty Rhodes laid flat on his back in the center of the ring. The audience didn't like this one bit, and showed their disapproval by booing Rhodes.

Orton went to cover Cody, but out of nowhere, Rhodes rolled Randy up in a small package. One. Two. The Legend Killer managed to kick out just before the count of three. The audience went wild upon seeing this; some people actually _cheered_ for Cody.

As both men rose to their feet, Randy had a look of complete shock on his face. This was obviously not a part of the plan they had discussed.

Rhodes had his back up against the ropes when Orton charged at him. Cody dropped down, pulling the top rope with him, and Randy's own momentum carried him up and over to the outside floor. The crowd went nuts once again.

The WWE Champion slithered back in the ring, and ran towards Rhodes once again, but Cody was ready for him and caught him with a drop toe hold. He followed that up with an Oklahoma roll. One. Two. Randy managed to squirm his way out of that pinning predicament before the count of three.

Orton beat Rhodes up to his feet first, and connected with a swift kick to the taped up ribs of Cody. The younger man sank to his knees, clenched his teeth, and gasped for air while clutching his ribs.

The Legend Killer picked Cody up by his head only to knock him back down to the mat courtesy of a European uppercut.

Orton stomped on Cody's left ankle. Then, he stomped on Rhodes' right knee. Next, he stomped on his right wrist. Finally, he stomped Cody in the face. That was trademark Orton stomping every available appendage of his opponent's.

Randy came off the ropes and delivered a jumping knee drop to the face of Rhodes. He followed that up with a pin attempt. One. Two. Cody got his right shoulder up before the count of three. Orton shook his head in disapproval.

"Stay down, Cody!" Randy hollered.

The WWE Champion then locked in a wrenching chin lock submission hold on Rhodes. Cody gasped for air as he tried to pry Randy's arm off him, but to no avail.

The crowd started to rally behind Cody, and a "Cody!" chant started.

Rhodes got up to a vertical base and connected with a couple of elbows to the gut of Orton before Randy grabbed Cody by the head, and just slammed him back down to the mat.

He then dropped an elbow to the ribs of Rhodes. Orton got up and delivered a second one. Then, a third. Cody rolled on the ground in pain, clutched his ribs, and screamed out in agony.

Randy then mounted Cody and connected with three stiff punches to the head of Rhodes. The referee reprimanded Orton about opening up his fists.

Orton helped Cody to his feet when, out of nowhere, Rhodes surprised him with a schoolboy pin. One. Two. Another near fall.

Both men quickly got to their feet, but Randy met Rhodes with a stiff clothesline that turned him inside out.

Orton did something he doesn't normally do—go up to the top ropes. He stood there perched up on the top rope waiting for Cody to get to his feet.

When Rhodes did get to his feet, Orton connected with a huge cross body block, but Rhodes rolled through. One. Two. Almost a count of three.

As soon as both men were up to a vertical base, Orton tried for another clothesline, but Cody ducked underneath, and caught Randy with a crucifix pin. One. Two. Another near fall.

Rhodes beat Orton to his feet this time, and charged him, but Randy caught him with a kick to the midsection.

The Legend Killer came off the ropes, but was caught off guard with a power slam from Rhodes. Cody hooked the leg. One. Two. Randy got his left shoulder up just before the count of three. The youngest member of Legacy had a look of frustration on his face—he thought he had Orton beat.

This time, it was Rhodes who went up to the top rope as he waited for Randy to get back up to a vertical base. When he did, Cody went for a flying bulldog, but Orton ducked out of the way, and Rhodes landed back first on the mat.

Randy then dropped to the ground stomach first and started pounding both his fists into the mat. The viper was poised to strike.

Once Rhodes got to his feet, and turned around, Orton went for the RKO, but Cody reversed it into a backslide pin. One. Two. Orton just escaped at the last split second.

Both men rose to their feet, and Randy went for another kick to the midsection of Rhodes, but Cody caught his leg. The younger man followed that up with a back heel trip. He then went for a knee drop, but Orton rolled out of the way, and Cody grabbed his right knee in pain.

Randy, ever the opportunist, started stomping away at the right knee of Rhodes. Cody cried out in pain, and hugged his knee to his chest after the onslaught had stopped.

Orton then dragged Cody by the ankle across the ring, positioning his right leg on the bottom rope. Randy leapt up into the air and landed with all his weight on Rhodes' injured limb. Cody cradled his hurt knee.

The Legend Killer dragged Rhodes into the center of the ring and locked in a half Boston crab, exploiting Cody's right knee.

The son of The American Dream squirmed and clawed his way ever closer to the bottom ropes to force a rope break. Just when it looked like he was about to grab the bottom rope, Orton dragged Rhodes back to the center of the ring.

Cody bit his lip to stop himself from crying, and he bit his lip so hard, that his bottom lip started bleeding. Orton was really cranking back with the submission hold.

Ted's words from earlier repeated itself over and over in Cody's ear, "_There's no telling when or even if you'll get another opportunity like this anytime soon._"

The audience started getting behind Rhodes. Another "Cody" chant started.

Cody had been in the submission hold for over a minute now, and he looked like he was about to tap out.

"That's right! Tap out, Cody!" Orton yelled.

Rhodes dragged himself slowly but surely to the ropes. This time, he managed to grab the bottom rope, forcing a rope break. Orton had until the count of five to break the hold, and he broke at four.

Cody rolled to the outside.

Randy followed him, and went to pick Rhodes up by the head, when Cody grabbed Orton by the trunks, and threw him head first into the steel ring post. The blow busted the WWE Champion open.

The referee began to count both men out. One. Two. Three. Cody tried to stand, but fell back down. Four. Five. Orton still wasn't moving. Six. Rhodes used the ring apron to help pull himself up. Seven. Randy started to stir. Eight. Cody rolled into the ring. Nine. Orton somehow managed to get back in the ring as well.

Inside the ring, Rhodes was first to his feet. He hobbled on one leg over to Orton, and picked him up off the ground. Cody then set him up for his finisher—Cross Rhodes. Randy fought out with repeated forearm shots to the face.

Quickly, and suddenly, Orton nailed Rhodes with the RKO. The Legend Killer had a nonchalant cover on Cody, draping his back over Cody's stomach. One. Two. Rhodes got his foot on the bottom rope.

Randy raised his arm in victory, thinking he had the match won as blood seeped down his face. The referee told him that the match wasn't over yet because Rhodes had his foot on the bottom rope. Orton was beside himself.

Randy got to his feet. He staggered a little bit as he was still woozy from the blood loss. He grabbed Cody's arm and slowly pulled him to the center of the ring. Then, he went for the pin again. One. Two. Cody got his left shoulder up.

Randy was beside himself probably wondering what he had to do to put Cody away.

Orton stood up, hauled Cody to his feet, and Irish whipped him into the ropes. However, Cody's right knee buckled, and he crumpled to the mat. The referee checked on him and made sure he still wanted to continue.

As Cody was on all fours, Randy went in for the punt to the skull. Rhodes got out of the way at the last split second, and caught Orton with a schoolboy roll up. One. Two. Another near fall once again.

Both men slowly got to their feet and went for the exact same move at the exact same time—a clothesline. Both superstars were down now in the center of the ring.

The referee began the ten count. One. Two. Rhodes started crawling his way over to the ropes. Three. Orton crawled his way over to the ropes on the other side of the ring. Four. Five. Cody started to use the ropes to pull himself up. Six. Randy started to use the ropes to pull himself up. Seven. Cody was on one knee. Eight. Randy was on one knee. Nine. Cody and Randy were both on their feet.

Orton ran towards Cody, and Rhodes caught him coming in with a beautiful standing drop kick, knocking Randy off his feet. However, the move also hurt Cody's right knee.

A small pool of blood formed on the mat as Orton rolled over on his stomach.

Cody staggered to his feet, and helped Orton to his. Then he grabbed Randy by the head and rammed his head into the top turnbuckle. One. Two. Three. Four. Rhodes then rammed Orton's head into the second turnbuckle. Five. Six. Seven. Finally, Cody rammed Randy's head into the bottom turnbuckle. Eight. Nine. Ten. Orton staggered to his feet, and turned around swinging wildly, but missing completely.

The youngest member of Legacy perched himself on the second rope and came off of it with a flying bulldog. He rolled Orton over, and hooked the leg. One. Two. Only a two count as Orton managed to get his right shoulder up this time.

Both men were spent at this point. This was, as good ol' Jim Ross would say, a real slobber knocker.

Rhodes picked Randy off the ground and got him in position for Cross Rhodes. Orton countered it and went for an RKO. Cody countered that and this time connected with Cross Rhodes. He hooked the leg. One. Two. Almost three.

Cody couldn't believe it. If Randy kicked out of his finisher, what would it take to beat him?

As Rhodes picked Orton off the mat again, Randy took the opportunity to hit a forearm shot to Cody's exposed ribs. Rhodes doubled over in pain.

Orton then backed Rhodes into the corner. He connected with a series of shoulder blocks to the gut. When he went for another, Cody leap frogged over it, and caught Randy with a sunset flip. Rhodes put both of his legs on top of Orton's shoulders. One. Two. Th—kick out by Orton.

Both men were on their feet. Randy came at Cody with a running clothesline. Rhodes ducked underneath, grabbed Orton's other arm, spun him around, and hit a flowing snap DDT out of nowhere—a finisher Cody hadn't used in a long time.

Rhodes dragged Orton by the arm to the center of the ring—away from the ropes. He then hooked the far leg while grapevining the other. One. Two. Three.

The bell rang.

"Here is the winner of the match, Cody Rhodes," Lillian Garcia announced.

Practically everyone in attendance was on their feet giving both wrestlers a standing ovation. Everyone cheered as the referee raised Cody's hand in the air.

"I can't believe it! Cody did it! He pulled off the upset! He did the impossible! He beat Randy Orton!" Lawler remarked.

"Yes, and that means that Cody Rhodes is now the number one contender. That means that Cody Rhodes will face Randy Orton at SummerSlam, but this time for the WWE Championship," Michael Cole responded.

Lawler then asked the question I'm sure all of us wanted to know, "What though does this mean for Legacy?"

To Be Continued…

**A/N: See? I told you things would get better for Cody, didn't I? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you tiger35 for putting this on your favorite stories list. I'm usually pretty good at replying to each and every review I receive, so if you have reviewed or if you do review, you can expect a review reply from me. Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**Rhodes to the Top**

_Chapter 3-Every Action Has Its Consequences_

With just under two weeks from SummerSlam, Raw was in Charlotte, North Carolina this week. The show opened up with Randy Orton and Ted Dibiase standing in the middle of the ring. Orton had his WWE Championship belt draped over his right shoulder.

"At this time, I'd like to introduce you to the man I will be facing for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes," Orton said, speaking into the microphone.

Legacy's entrance music started playing as their entrance video appeared on the Titantron. The live audience cheered for Cody Rhodes. After all, they _were_ in Cody's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The second-generation superstar was given a microphone before he entered the ring to join his Legacy teammates. He appeared to be slightly cautious. Rumors had been swirling around in the locker room all day about Legacy kicking Cody out of their group tonight.

"Cody, Cody, Cody. What do you have to say for yourself about what happened last week?" Randy asked.

The youngest Legacy member walked right up to Orton's face and said, "I'd say the student surpassed the teacher." The live audience cheered in response.

"You don't get it, do you? _I_ am the star of Legacy! Need I remind you what _your _role is? Your role is to watch my back, and see to it that I keep this title around my waist at all costs! Your role _isn't_ to take _my_ title from me, which you _won't_ do at SummerSlam!" The audience booed in response.

Cody slapped Orton so hard across the face it sounded like a gun had been fired in the arena. The crowd ate this up.

"You are such a hypocrite, Randy! I did the exact same thing you did a little over five years ago when you won a battle royal; I became the number one contender. You then went on to become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history when you defeated Chris Benoit at SummerSlam at the age of 24. Like you, I also am going on to SummerSlam to become the youngest champion in WWE history at the age of 24," Rhodes remarked.

Were Rhodes to win at SummerSlam, he _would_ be the youngest champion in WWE history. Orton was 24 when he became World Heavyweight Champion. Cody is 24 now. Randy's birthday is April 1st. Cody's birthday is June 30th.

Orton got right in Cody's face. He was seething with anger after being slapped by Rhodes. Randy's shoulders rose and fell rapidly as he breathed heavily. He had a vein in his neck that was pulsating. He glared daggers at Cody. If looks could kill, Rhodes would be pushing up daisies.

"How quickly you seem to forget, Cody, what Evolution did to me the night after SummerSlam. In fact, it's the same thing I'm going to do to you right now," Orton said before attempting to give Cody an RKO; Cody threw Randy off him.

Unbeknownst to Rhodes, Ted had slipped out while Randy and Cody were talking, grabbed a steel chair, and slithered back into the ring. The youngest member of Legacy soon found out though when that chair collided with his back, courtesy of Dibiase.

Cody fell to his knees, grabbing his back out of pain. Ted slammed the chair into his back a second time. Now, Rhodes was sprawled out on the mat, grimacing in agony.

"Stand him up!" Orton ordered Dibiase.

Ted hauled Cody to his feet, holding both of the younger man's arms behind him. Randy returned the favor from earlier and slapped Rhodes hard across the face. It was hard to tell which was louder—when Cody slapped Randy or when Randy slapped Cody.

Orton then proceeded to mercilessly pound Rhodes with closed fists to both of his temples. Cody tried to squirm free from Dibiase, but his hold was too tight. Besides, Cody wasn't just the youngest member of Legacy, he was also the smallest.

Then, quickly and suddenly, Orton hit Rhodes with an RKO. It was no secret that on the road, during house shows, Cody had been wrestling with a lingering neck injury. It wasn't serious enough to put him on the shelf, but it _was_ bothersome. Anyways, the RKO certainly didn't make Rhodes' neck feel any better. That's for sure.

"Pick him up, and hit him with your finisher!" Randy instructed.

Dibiase did as he was told; he helped Rhodes to his feet only to give him his finisher—Dream Street—a devastating cobra clutch slam. Cody had now fallen victim to two finishing moves, and Orton wasn't done yet.

This time, it was Randy that picked Rhodes up off the ground. Only, Orton gave the young man Cody's own finisher—Cross Rhodes. Hitting a wrestler with his own finishing move was the ultimate insult.

Randy screamed into a microphone, "No one's going to help you Cody! You have no friends left Cody!"

The thing about that statement was it was true. As a member of Legacy, Cody had done some pretty despicable things, and by doing so, he had made a lot of enemies. Practically everyone in the locker room hated his guts. It wasn't so much that Cody himself had done said despicable things. However, he was along for the ride and stood by as Orton did them, which was just as bad.

Dibiase had grabbed the steel chair once again. It already had a dent in it from the two times he had already used it on Cody. Ted flattened a prone Rhodes with a third chair shot to the back.

The audience was shocked. They weren't expecting this. There was a dead silence that fell upon them as they weren't even sure what to do or say in response. All they knew was that they were watching their hometown boy get the stuffing beat out of him. It appeared as if those locker room rumors were right after all.

"You're not going to make it to SummerSlam, Cody!" Orton yelled into the microphone.

Randy stomped Rhodes on his left wrist. Then, he stomped him on his left ankle. Next, he stomped him on his right ankle. He proceeded to stomp him on his right wrist. Finally, Orton stomped Cody on the back of his neck.

After taking three chair shots, three finishers, and then having every available appendage stomped on, Cody was completely defenseless.

The Legend Killer rolled Rhodes over on his back, and mounted him. He proceeded to hit him repeatedly with closed fists to the face. Cody was so out of it by this point, that he couldn't even bring his arms up to his face to protect himself from the punches. His head lolled from side to side as Randy dealt blow after blow.

Ted Dibiase, Cody's tag team partner and best friend, just stood there and did absolutely nothing as Orton mercilessly punished Rhodes. There were rumors that had been going around that if anyone were to leave Legacy, it would be Ted Dibiase. This was based on the animosity between Dibiase and Orton as of late. Let's not forget that time where Randy punted Dibiase in the skull awhile back, putting him on the shelf for months.

By now, Cody had a bloody nose, a bloody lip, and welts on the sides of his head that were nearly the size of ping pong balls. However, Randy continued to deck Rhodes over and over again.

Orton mercifully stopped punching Cody. He and Ted went to leave the ring. Randy was halfway through the ropes when he decided that he wasn't done with Rhodes quite yet. He stalked his way back in the ring and over to a fallen Cody.

"Get him on his feet!" Orton commanded Ted.

Dibiase once again did as he was told. Randy grabbed the steel chair, raised it, and then slammed it with authority in the face of Cody Rhodes. The young man fell to the mat like a ton of bricks. Now, in addition to his lip and nose bleeding even more, Rhodes now had a cut on his forehead that blood was seeping out of.

The sickening thud of steel on skull echoed throughout the arena. There was no telling whether Cody now had a concussion or not. His eyes started to roll to the back of his head.

"You embarrassed me last week, Cody! You humiliated me! You brought this on yourself, Cody!" Randy shouted at Rhodes.

"You're nothing without us!" Ted added as he spat in Cody's face.

The Legend Killer then proceeded to wrap the steel chair around the neck of Rhodes. He then went up to the second turnbuckle.

However, two superstars on the Raw roster had seen enough, and rushed down to the ringside at this time to make the save. Those two superstars were Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston.

Orton and Dibiase, ever the cowards, slipped out of the ring wanting to have nothing to do with Bourne or Kingston. They slowly backed away from the ring as Bourne removed the steel chair from the neck of Cody.

The WWE Champion still had a microphone in his hand. He raised it up to him and said, "Just in case it wasn't clear—Cody, you're out of Legacy!"

By now, the two remaining members of Legacy were standing on the entrance ramp looking on. They both had huge sinister smiles on their faces as they were quite pleased with what they had just done.

WWE trainers and EMTs rushed down to the ring to tend to Cody. Meanwhile, in the ring, Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne crouched down next to Rhodes and were checking on him themselves.

It actually wasn't that surprising that Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston came to help Cody Rhodes when you think about it. All three superstars at one time trained at OVW—a developmental territory for future WWE superstars. Therefore, all three were OVW alumni.

The EMTs had brought down a stretcher with them to ringside. As they loaded Cody onto the stretcher, one thought was probably on everyone's mind—Was Randy right? Will Cody even make it to SummerSlam after the beat down he just received?

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Okay, so this is what I wish would actually happen in real life. Not because I want Cody to get beat up, but because I think Cody is better off without Legacy. I mean he's practically Legacy's very own jobber. I mean seriously, when is the last time he's actually ****won**** a match? The only titles he's ever held are Tag Titles, and I think, if given the right opportunity, Cody could actually be a very successful singles competitor. To tell you the truth, I'm getting a little disheartened about even writing this story. I've written two chapters prior to this, and only received three reviews. That's an average of 1.5 reviews per chapter. That's hardly impressive. Now, I hardly am the kind of author that writes ONLY to get reviews, but come on! Don't think that just because you don't leave me a review I'll automatically assume that you liked it because here's a news flash for you: I don't! On the contrary, when people don't review, I feel like it's because people DIDN'T like it. So, if you DID like it, please leave me a review and tell me so. It doesn't even have to be a LONG review. Three words is all it takes. "I liked it." That's all I'm asking, and I don't think it's too much to ask. To all of you who actually bothered to read the whole chapter, thank you for reading! **


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